The men's squash team played its final matches of the season last weekend, competing in the College Squash Association's Team Championships E bracket. The Jumbos won two of their three matches, which were held across the Greater Boston area. The team ended its season with an overall record of 6-18.
Those who have attended mens basketball games this year have been exposed to a strange pregame spectacle. A very tall man 68 to be exact in a suit waits at the end of the warm-up line for each starter, performing their warm-up dances with them.
Those who have attended men's basketball games this year have been exposed to a strange pregame spectacle. A very tall man - 6'8" to be exact - in a suit waits at the end of the warm-up line for each starter, performing their "warm-up" dances with them.
This was supposed to be the year. They had won 21 straight games. They had finally beaten Amherst. And before yesterday, the women's basketball team was three games away from finishing with the first perfect regular season in team history. All they had to do was beat an 11-10 Babson team before finishing off Bowdoin and Colby this weekend.Halfway through Tuesday night's game at Cousens Gymnasium, it seemed as if the Jumbos, up 32-12 at the break, were well on their way. But the Beavers turned their fortune around in the second half, doing what no other team has done this season - edge out a win against the Jumbos, 58-52. Led by sophomore Linnett Graber and freshman Giovanna Pickering, who each scored 16 points, Babson outscored Tufts 45-20 in the second half, holding the Jumbos to their worst shooting half of the season. With their victory against the No. 5 team in the nation, Babson moves to 12-10 for the season. Meanwhile, Tufts falls to 21-1, but the loss, which hurts neither their NESCAC standing nor tournament chances, is still a tough one. Enjoying home court advantage for the first time since Jan. 25, the Jumbos remained undefeated through a grueling five-game-away schedule that included two consecutive Friday-Saturday weekend matchups."I don't think that we can blame it on the away streak," senior tri-captain Caitlyn McClure said. "It was a team effort and we came out strong in those games and we did what we had to do. We didn't come out with that same focus and energy [against Babson]."The game began with a typical solid first-half effort from the Jumbos, who held the Beavers to just 6-of-11 shooting. However, the team's defense fell apart in the second half, as Tufts allowed 45 points on 14-of-19 shooting - the largest number of points they have given up in a half this season. The Jumbos were also out-rebounded 34-24 by the Beavers, grabbing only 12 defensive rebounds to the Beavers' 27. "What we pride ourselves on is our defense," senior tri-captain Liz Moynihan said. "It seemed like when we needed to get stops, we couldn't."Tufts' determination to secure a win at home against Babson seemed to run out in the second half as Tufts looked fatigued next to an inspired Babson team. The Jumbos were sidelined to a spectator role as they watched the Beavers chip away at their 19-point-half-time lead - scoring just one free throw, while allowing 14 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. No one expected this non-conference matchup to be anything more than a routine win for the Jumbos. Yet a game that looked all too predictable on paper turned into a nail-biting affair, as Tufts held on to a slim lead, 42-38, with 6:26 left in the second half. Following two consecutive baskets, Babson tied the score at 42-42 with 5:47 remaining and built momentum as the game entered its final stretch.The Jumbos had been outscored and outplayed from the opening tip of the second half, but took the lead with just over five minutes left in the game. Two free throws from freshman Michaela North tied the game at 44 with 3:20 left in the game.Unlike they had done all season long, Tufts could not close out the final minutes of the game.A jumper from junior captain Erin Young gave Babson a 46-44 lead, and after a Tufts miss, Graber hit another jumper with 2:24 left to push the Babson lead to four.After a missed three from junior Kelsey Morehead, Babson hit two free throws to go up 50-44. Refusing to go down without a fight, Moynihan hit a tough 3-pointer with 1:37 to go, making it a one-possession game. But a layup from Pickering with just over a minute to go put the Beavers up five and turned the game into a free-throw contest. Babson, forced to perform under pressure at the foul line in the final minutes, hit six of their last eight free throws to ice the game, handing Tufts a stunning loss. Notwithstanding the 19-point halftime lead, the Jumbos offense never really got going. They shot just 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from the field in the first half, just marginally better than the Beavers, and ended the night shooting 15-of-50 (30 percent) from the field.With the game on the line and Tufts in dire need of offensive tools to threaten the burgeoning Babson lead, Tufts perimeter shooting was sorely lacking as the team shot just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc in the second half. Morehead played all 40 minutes of the game, but ended the night with seven points, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and just one assist, a rare occurrence for a player averaging three assists per game. Juniors Hayley Kanner and Hannah Foley, Tufts' highest scoring forward-guard duo, ended the night with seven and six points, respectively, collectively shooting 2-of-12 from the field. "We definitely need to improve our execution," McClure said. "We weren't getting easy shots out of our offense." 12
This was supposed to be the year. They had won 21 straight games. They had finally beaten Amherst. And before yesterday, the womens basketball team was three games away from finishing with the first perfect regular season in team history. All they had to do was beat an 11-10 Babson team before finishing off Bowdoin and Colby this weekend.Halfway through Tuesday nights game at Cousens Gymnasium, it seemed as if the Jumbos, up 32-12 at the break, were well on their way. But the Beavers turned their fortune around in the second half, doing what no other team has done this season edge out a win against the Jumbos, 58-52. Led by sophomore Linnett Graber and freshman Giovanna Pickering, who each scored 16 points, Babson outscored Tufts 45-20 in the second half, holding the Jumbos to their worst shooting half of the season. With their victory against the No. 5 team in the nation, Babson moves to 12-10 for the season. Meanwhile, Tufts falls to 21-1, but the loss, which hurts neither their NESCAC standing nor tournament chances, is still a tough one. Enjoying home court advantage for the first time since Jan. 25, the Jumbos remained undefeated through a grueling five-game-away schedule that included two consecutive Friday-Saturday weekend matchups.I dont think that we can blame it on the away streak, senior tri-captain Caitlyn McClure said. It was a team effort and we came out strong in those games and we did what we had to do. We didnt come out with that same focus and energy [against Babson].The game began with a typical solid first-half effort from the Jumbos, who held the Beavers to just 6-of-11 shooting. However, the teams defense fell apart in the second half, as Tufts allowed 45 points on 14-of-19 shooting the largest number of points they have given up in a half this season. The Jumbos were also out-rebounded 34-24 by the Beavers, grabbing only 12 defensive rebounds to the Beavers 27. What we pride ourselves on is our defense, senior tri-captain Liz Moynihan said. It seemed like when we needed to get stops, we couldnt.Tufts determination to secure a win at home against Babson seemed to run out in the second half as Tufts looked fatigued next to an inspired Babson team. The Jumbos were sidelined to a spectator role as they watched the Beavers chip away at their 19-point-half-time lead scoring just one free throw, while allowing 14 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. No one expected this non-conference matchup to be anything more than a routine win for the Jumbos. Yet a game that looked all too predictable on paper turned into a nail-biting affair, as Tufts held on to a slim lead, 42-38, with 6:26 left in the second half. Following two consecutive baskets, Babson tied the score at 42-42 with 5:47 remaining and built momentum as the game entered its final stretch.The Jumbos had been outscored and outplayed from the opening tip of the second half, but took the lead with just over five minutes left in the game. Two free throws from freshman Michaela North tied the game at 44 with 3:20 left in the game.Unlike they had done all season long, Tufts could not close out the final minutes of the game.A jumper from junior captain Erin Young gave Babson a 46-44 lead, and after a Tufts miss, Graber hit another jumper with 2:24 left to push the Babson lead to four.After a missed three from junior Kelsey Morehead, Babson hit two free throws to go up 50-44. Refusing to go down without a fight, Moynihan hit a tough 3-pointer with 1:37 to go, making it a one-possession game. But a layup from Pickering with just over a minute to go put the Beavers up five and turned the game into a free-throw contest. Babson, forced to perform under pressure at the foul line in the final minutes, hit six of their last eight free throws to ice the game, handing Tufts a stunning loss. Notwithstanding the 19-point halftime lead, the Jumbos offense never really got going. They shot just 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from the field in the first half, just marginally better than the Beavers, and ended the night shooting 15-of-50 (30 percent) from the field.With the game on the line and Tufts in dire need of offensive tools to threaten the burgeoning Babson lead, Tufts perimeter shooting was sorely lacking as the team shot just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc in the second half. Morehead played all 40 minutes of the game, but ended the night with seven points, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and just one assist, a rare occurrence for a player averaging three assists per game. Juniors Hayley Kanner and Hannah Foley, Tufts highest scoring forward-guard duo, ended the night with seven and six points, respectively, collectively shooting 2-of-12 from the field. We definitely need to improve our execution, McClure said. We werent getting easy shots out of our offense. 12
After failing to win a game at the NESCAC tournament the weekend of Jan. 31, the mens squash team had a chance to get back on track against Northeastern before its top-three players competed in the College Squash Association Individual Championships.
After a difficult NESCAC Championships on the weekend of Jan. 31, the 25th ranked womens squash team was back on the court this past Tuesday against Northeastern. It was the teams second meeting with the 34th ranked Huskies, and once again the Jumbos won in convincing fashion. Tufts secured wins in the two through nine positions for an overall 8-1 victory.
After a difficult NESCAC Championships on the weekend of Jan. 31, the 25th ranked women's squash team was back on the court this past Tuesday against Northeastern. It was the team's second meeting with the 34th ranked Huskies, and once again the Jumbos won in convincing fashion. Tufts secured wins in the two through nine positions for an overall 8-1 victory.
After failing to win a game at the NESCAC tournament the weekend of Jan. 31, the men's squash team had a chance to get back on track against Northeastern before its top-three players competed in the College Squash Association Individual Championships.
The Jumbos proved to be among the best at Boston Universitys unscored, annual David Hemery Valentine Invitational last Friday.
As the hourglass continues to run down on the Jumbos' shot at becoming a postseason contender, the men's hockey team did itself no favors this weekend. Hoping to come out of its only home-and-away doubleheader of the season with two wins and four points, head coach Brian Murphy's squad instead skated away empty-handed after dropping consecutive contests to traveling partner Conn. College.Penalties have become increasingly problematic for the frustrated squad. On the defensive end the Jumbos have continued to rack up costly penalties, including yet another five-minute major game misconduct on Friday. On the offensive end, Tufts has not fared much better. The team has struggled to capitalize on the man-up and went 3-for-13 on the power play over the weekend."Special teams has been an area that we've really been working on," freshman forward Pat Lackey said. "We have been trying to focus on staying out of the box, but sometimes the officials are forced to make the call. Overall on the year, I think our penalty kills and power plays have been solid, but this weekend didn't really reflect that."After dropping a game to Conn. College on Friday evening, the Jumbos loaded the bus and followed the Camels back to New London, Conn. for a second-straight day of head-to-head action. The result was the same, however, as they uncharacteristically dug themselves a deep first-period hole that proved too difficult to climb out of.This season, the Jumbos have typically played well in the opening 20 minutes, only allowing games to slip away in the later periods. Saturday's contest told a different story. In front of a packed crowd for its own benefit awareness game, Conn. College peppered freshman goalie Ryan Kellenberger in the early minutes and entered the first intermission with a sizeable 3-0 lead. The Camels executed the dump and chase strategy effectively in the first period, playing the puck deep into the corners of their offensive zone and bringing heavy offensive pressure on the forecheck. Their first goal came at the 4:06 mark, when freshman forward Joe Giordano followed a rebound behind the net and finished a wraparound shot past Kellenberger.Just 40 seconds later, Conn. College doubled its advantage as senior forward Kevin Kelly dished the rubber to sophomore forward Penn Sednaoui, who flipped the Camels' second goal of the evening into the back of the net.Midway through the period, the Camels dumped in their third goal of the evening. This time junior forward JC Cangelosi broke free of the Tufts defense and received the puck from senior defenseman Kevin Reich, depositing it in the upper right corner. Following the rough start, Murphy benched the young Kellenberger in favor of veteran goalie Greg Jenkins, a senior who has started most of Tufts' recent matchups."Going down three goals was a result of a lack of focus and intensity during the most difficult time for a team on the road - the first five minutes," freshman forward Mike Leary said.Towards the end of the second period, the Jumbos tacked on a power-play score when junior defenseman Shawn Power tracked down a rebound off junior forward Andrew White and sent a shot in from the left circle to pull Tufts within two.Five minutes later, however, Conn. College extended the lead back to three when Kelly located the puck in a scramble and worked it past Jenkins, making it 4-1.Entering the final period with a three-point deficit, the Jumbos were given a golden opportunity when Sednaoui was whistled for a five-minute-charging major. But Tufts made no use of the advantage, squandering the power play without piecing together any real scoring opportunities."We let in some penalty kill goals and weren't able to capitalize on the power play ourselves, so that hurt us," Lackey said. "We passed up some prime opportunities, but I don't think that put us out of the game completely."The Camels' Cangelosi finished a short-handed score at the 11:45 mark to extend his team's lead to four with fewer than 10 minutes remaining. Trailing 5-1 with just two minutes remaining, Tufts refused to give up the ship. At the 18:40 mark, Jumbos' junior forward Tyler Voigt lit the lamp on a power play. Seconds later, Lackey lit up the boards again, pulling Tufts within two."Leary took a hard shot from the top of the circle, and I was situated in front of the net," Lackey said. "The goalie kicked out a rebound to the slot, and I picked up the puck and sent a one-timer towards the far side where it slid in."However, the Jumbos would come no closer as the remaining minute closed out."To be honest the early goals forced our team to bear down and start playing with more urgency," Leary said. "We were able to chip away, but unfortunately it was both too little and too late for a comeback."12
The Jumbos proved to be among the best at Boston University's unscored, annual David Hemery Valentine Invitational last Friday.
As the hourglass continues to run down on the Jumbos shot at becoming a postseason contender, the mens hockey team did itself no favors this weekend. Hoping to come out of its only home-and-away doubleheader of the season with two wins and four points, head coach Brian Murphys squad instead skated away empty-handed after dropping consecutive contests to traveling partner Conn. College.Penalties have become increasingly problematic for the frustrated squad. On the defensive end the Jumbos have continued to rack up costly penalties, including yet another five-minute major game misconduct on Friday. On the offensive end, Tufts has not fared much better. The team has struggled to capitalize on the man-up and went 3-for-13 on the power play over the weekend.Special teams has been an area that weve really been working on, freshman forward Pat Lackey said. We have been trying to focus on staying out of the box, but sometimes the officials are forced to make the call. Overall on the year, I think our penalty kills and power plays have been solid, but this weekend didnt really reflect that.After dropping a game to Conn. College on Friday evening, the Jumbos loaded the bus and followed the Camels back to New London, Conn. for a second-straight day of head-to-head action. The result was the same, however, as they uncharacteristically dug themselves a deep first-period hole that proved too difficult to climb out of.This season, the Jumbos have typically played well in the opening 20 minutes, only allowing games to slip away in the later periods. Saturdays contest told a different story. In front of a packed crowd for its own benefit awareness game, Conn. College peppered freshman goalie Ryan Kellenberger in the early minutes and entered the first intermission with a sizeable 3-0 lead. The Camels executed the dump and chase strategy effectively in the first period, playing the puck deep into the corners of their offensive zone and bringing heavy offensive pressure on the forecheck. Their first goal came at the 4:06 mark, when freshman forward Joe Giordano followed a rebound behind the net and finished a wraparound shot past Kellenberger.Just 40 seconds later, Conn. College doubled its advantage as senior forward Kevin Kelly dished the rubber to sophomore forward Penn Sednaoui, who flipped the Camels second goal of the evening into the back of the net.Midway through the period, the Camels dumped in their third goal of the evening. This time junior forward JC Cangelosi broke free of the Tufts defense and received the puck from senior defenseman Kevin Reich, depositing it in the upper right corner. Following the rough start, Murphy benched the young Kellenberger in favor of veteran goalie Greg Jenkins, a senior who has started most of Tufts recent matchups.Going down three goals was a result of a lack of focus and intensity during the most difficult time for a team on the road the first five minutes, freshman forward Mike Leary said.Towards the end of the second period, the Jumbos tacked on a power-play score when junior defenseman Shawn Power tracked down a rebound off junior forward Andrew White and sent a shot in from the left circle to pull Tufts within two.Five minutes later, however, Conn. College extended the lead back to three when Kelly located the puck in a scramble and worked it past Jenkins, making it 4-1.Entering the final period with a three-point deficit, the Jumbos were given a golden opportunity when Sednaoui was whistled for a five-minute-charging major. But Tufts made no use of the advantage, squandering the power play without piecing together any real scoring opportunities.We let in some penalty kill goals and werent able to capitalize on the power play ourselves, so that hurt us, Lackey said. We passed up some prime opportunities, but I dont think that put us out of the game completely.The Camels Cangelosi finished a short-handed score at the 11:45 mark to extend his teams lead to four with fewer than 10 minutes remaining. Trailing 5-1 with just two minutes remaining, Tufts refused to give up the ship. At the 18:40 mark, Jumbos junior forward Tyler Voigt lit the lamp on a power play. Seconds later, Lackey lit up the boards again, pulling Tufts within two.Leary took a hard shot from the top of the circle, and I was situated in front of the net, Lackey said. The goalie kicked out a rebound to the slot, and I picked up the puck and sent a one-timer towards the far side where it slid in.However, the Jumbos would come no closer as the remaining minute closed out.To be honest the early goals forced our team to bear down and start playing with more urgency, Leary said. We were able to chip away, but unfortunately it was both too little and too late for a comeback.12
On Feb. 3, junior Hayley Kanner was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her performances over the weekend. Kanner is the first Tufts women's basketball player this year to receive the honor despite the Jumbos' undefeated record that has them leading the NESCAC standings.
The mens and womens squash teams send their top three players to the Div. III Individual Championships this weekend. Sophomore Aditya Advani, junior Zach Schweitzer and freshman Josh Lee will represent the mens team; sophomore Paget Stanco and junior co-captains Paige Dahlman and Ann Bellinger will represent the womens team.
On Feb. 3, junior Hayley Kanner was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her performances over the weekend. Kanner is the first Tufts womens basketball player this year to receive the honor despite the Jumbos undefeated record that has them leading the NESCAC standings.
The men's and women's squash teams send their top three players to the Div. III Individual Championships this weekend. Sophomore Aditya Advani, junior Zach Schweitzer and freshman Josh Lee will represent the men's team; sophomore Paget Stanco and junior co-captains Paige Dahlman and Ann Bellinger will represent the women's team.
Things went from bad to worse for the mens hockey team this past weekend. The Jumbos trekked to Vermont and then to Western Massachusetts on a brutal road trip during which they dropped two more contests to Middlebury and Williams. Now, head coach Brian Murphys squad, which has not seen a conference victory since Dec. 6, sits in the NESCAC cellar with a dismal 1-11 conference record.After falling to host school Middlebury by a score of 3-0 on Friday evening, Tufts faced NESCAC leader and national No. 8 Williams the following day. Despite staying within one goal of the Ephs for almost two periods, the Jumbos struggled to take advantage of several power plays, instead allowing Williams to pull away with a devastating 6-2 result. As always for the Jumbos, things started out manageably. For much of the first period, Williams and Tufts traded possessions with each contesting in the offensive zone, but neither managing to find the back of the net. Midway through the opening stanza, junior defenseman Shawn Power was whistled for roughing, but the Jumbos defense was able to kill the resulting two-minute power play.After roughly 15 minutes of play, things started to unravel for Tufts. At the 15:37 mark, junior co-captain defenseman Blake Edwards was called for hitting from behind. The referees, declaring it not only a five-minute major but also game misconduct, sent Edwards straight past the sin-bin and into the locker room, leaving Tufts defense to kill the penalty without its back-line leader.Williams did not hesitate to take advantage of the ensuing power play. Freshman forward Tyler Young beat Tufts senior goalie Greg Jenkins with a close-range shot to put Williams on the board going into the first intermission.The Jumbos killed the remainder of the penalty, allowing no further damage as the first period drew to a close. At the start of the second period, Tufts earned its own power play opportunity when Williams sophomore defenseman Greg Johnson was sent to the box for interference. The Jumbos wasted no time: sophomore forward Luke Griffin worked with linemates Power and freshman Conal Lynch to tie the game up at the 1:02 mark.Just as Tufts looked ready to overcome Edwards early exit and jump back in the game, Williams climbed on top again with a wrist-shot from sophomore forward Matt Werner coming just nine seconds after Griffins strike.The shift immediately after a goal is one of the most important parts of the game because it can dictate the momentum, junior forward Andrew White said. The quick goal by Williams after we tied the game up was due to a temporary mental lapse, and, unfortunately, they were able to capitalize.In the 13th minute of play, the Ephs struck twice more, this time notching goals off the sticks of rookie forward George Hunkele, who beat Jenkins on his blocker side, and sophomore defenseman Zander Masucci, who finished an unassisted hook past the keeper.Trailing 4-1 as the period wound down, Tufts freshman defenseman Sean Kavanagh found the back of the net for his first collegiate score, pulling his team within two at the close of the second period.Tufts entered the final period with the game within reach, and hoped to challenge the conference leaders down the stretch. The Jumbos pressured, but their defense ultimately broke down in the fifth minute. Freshman defenseman Frankie Mork ripped a slap shot from the left point, sending it in front of Jenkins cage where junior forward Alex DeBaere was able to tip the puck past him for the Ephs fifth goal of the contest. Down the stretch, Williams keeper junior Sean Dougherty made a series of stops to keep Tufts from pulling closer.Dougherty did play well, but Williams [defense] did a good job keeping our forwards on the perimeter, White said. They were physical and aggressive on our forwards and limited opportunities ... around the net.With the game growing increasingly out of reach, Williams capped things off in the 12th minute when senior forward co-captain Paul Steinig took advantage of a two-minute hooking penalty on Tufts sophomore forward Dom Granato, completing the six-goal rout.Williams did a good job playing within their systems, White said. They dumped the puck and forechecked hard against our defense. Anytime you play against a team that forechecks hard it can wear on the defense, and with the absence of Blake [Edwards], we struggled to get the puck out of our zone.In the closing seven minutes, the two teams were whistled for a combined five penalties, bringing the game total to 10 in an intensely emotional matchup. Although the Jumbos own frustrations certainly contributed to their physical play down the stretch, the Ephs matched the intensity with plenty of chippy play of their own.We usually see the most success when we are playing physical and outworking other teams, Edwards said. After I got kicked out, [the] guys may have held back a little bit, but I dont really think it affected the physicality of the game. It probably hurt the most that we had to play with only five [defensemen] after I was gone. As I said earlier, we try to be physical every game, but unfortunately frustration is high at this point of the season, and it can affect how you play sometimes.12
In the final event before the NESCAC championships, the women's swimming and diving team headed to the Middlebury College Invitational this past weekend, competing against teams that included NESCAC rivals Amherst, Williams and Middlebury.
The men's swimming and diving team kicked off the championship phase of their season at the Middlebury Invitational last weekend. Twenty-one swimmers and two divers competed in the meet, a non-scoring event that included five other teams: Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Springfield College and the University of Vermont.
